STEPHEN BRADLEY INSISTED Albert Riera showed himself up as classless and ill-informed after the Celje boss reignited a war of words with his Shamrock Rovers counterpart that started last summer.

The Slovenian side ran out deserved 2-0 winners in their Conference League clash at Tallaght Stadium on Thursday night, and the former Liverpool winger took the opportunity to deride Bradley for remaining in charge of the League of Ireland club for the last decade and not moving abroad.

The pair first fell over 12 months ago when Riera said his side were on a different level to Rovers, comments Bradley said were disrespectful and helped fuel their win.

A year on, Celje returned to Dublin with a new-look squad and impressed in their win, but the manner of Riera’s remarks in the aftermath of the win left a sour taste.

“I can say that Shamrock [Rovers] didn’t surprise me at all, so I have to say this. We are far away of the level [from Shamrock Rovers]. Playing in a in a really average second half we could even score more goals. We let them have some chances but in general, we show in 90 minutes that we have a better level than them. And so we won,” Riera said.

“Look, I would say I was, because really, I like this sentence ‘what happened in Las Vegas stay in Las Vegas’. This is something similar. What happened on the green has to stay on the green, right?

Celje manager Albert Riera ahead of the match. Ryan Byrne / INPHO Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO

“How you respect me, I respect you. So, I will not be bad to you, but if you disrespect me in this way.

“And if I can judge, I can judge as a manager, and as a manager I can say that he (Bradley) has to take care of his team to improve his team and this is what I can say. Personally, I will not say any word because I don’t know him and I don’t want to know him.

“But I would like that he’s not talking about the colleagues. He’s someone that is many, many years here. I think nine years already here. Even winning here in this country and you stay in this country still. No [club] coming anyone from abroad. I think this means some things.”

The context of Bradley’s family situation over the last number of years explains why the Rovers boss has turned down opportunities abroad. His son Josh completed successful cancer treatment earlier this year and when Riera’s barbs were brought up Bradley

“I think if he did his homework, he wouldn’t be talking like that. I think it’s quite clear, the last few years, what my number one priority was,” he said.

“It’s easy to be disrespectful when you’ve won. It’s easy to do that. I think that shows the lack of class that the man has. I said that last year. I think it’s quite easy to do that when you’ve won the game and come in and speak like that. I think that sums up him as a person. The lack of class and the lack of understanding of what he’s talking about really sums him up.”

While Bradley acknowledged that Celje were the better side on the night and “can’t complain” with the result, the comments from Riera were not something he was willing to dwell on.

“No, you can’t. Why would you let an individual like that and their opinions and their views bother you? No, I don’t think you can. We know the respect that we have around Europe, what we’ve built. We know what we’re doing as a club, where we’re going. As a team, as a club, we don’t need someone like him, his approval.

“If you’re seeking approval off someone like that, you’re in trouble. If you’re looking for validation off someone like him, you’re in trouble. I’m very comfortable with what I am as a person and as a manager. I’m very comfortable with where this club is, where we’re trying to go. We don’t need anyone like him to give a stamp of approval.”